South Gallery
October 9 through December 16
Reception: Wednesday, October 29, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Morse and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.)
Artist Statement
The idea for this ongoing series came to me in early 2020, at a time when I regularly used the subway to commute to my place of work. As a lifelong avid reader, I was taken by the images of those few Black men, whom I all too rarely observed reading. The emotions I felt were not in any way influenced by current events in the news at that time, but sprang from feelings that touched me on a very deep level. As I see myself in each of the subjects I choose to paint, I have opted to name this series Black Men Reading.
When we recall that prior to the Civil War, it was against the law to teach a Black person to read — let alone for a Black person to be caught in the act of reading — and that the punishment could be physical harm, being sold away from family, and even death for either offense, we are reminded of the profundity of the subject.
As a direct result of economic, social, and historical realities stemming from this time and continuing into the present day, reading as a way of life has seldom been practiced or as emphasized in Black culture as it has in others. A love of reading requires the role of the early home environment. Instead, the task of teaching the skill and value of reading has been left largely to educators in the school system.
Recognizing that knowledge is power, and that the kind of knowledge that comes from reading books is the most powerful kind of knowledge of all, we realize why now, more than ever, it is so vitally important for Black men and women to establish the habit of reading, and to provide an example for others to follow.
About the Artist
Larry Morse was born in Harlem in 1947 and grew up largely in Hempstead, Long Island. After a tour of Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, he obtained a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Living in the East Village for 20 years during a time of exciting social change, he also became a jazz drummer, and much of Larry’s work is greatly influenced by jazz.
After completing school, he worked for a time in commercial art, and then went on to teach art in the NYC Public school system. After 15 years, he retired in order to devote more time to painting, while supplementing his income as a Yellow Cab driver. He currently lives and paints in Ansonia.
Notable venues where Morse’s work has been shown include City Lights Gallery, the NEST, Bridgeport innovation Center, Bad Dog Brewery in Torrington, Gallery 287 and the Mothership in Danbury, Carol Peck’s Good News Cafe in Woodbury, the Easton Library, and the Mitchell Library in New Haven. His work is now included in the permanent collection of the Housatonic Museum.
For more, watch this recorded interview with Larry Morse.
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For more about the Library art exhibits, visit the Art at the Library page.
